Posts tagged Oklahoma State
CU Continuing At NCAA Regionals
Apr 29th
University of Colorado will continue its season at the 2014 NCAA Division I Women’s Golf Regionals.
The Buffaloes received one of 44 at large bids to the regional tournaments, considered the preliminary rounds of the NCAA Championships competition.
CU, who will be sending the team or an individual to the regionals for a fourth consecutive year, will compete as the No. 17 seed in the Central Regional at the 6,200-yard, par-72 Karsten Golf Club in Stillwater, Okla. from May 8-10.
The Buffs’ region includes fellow Pac-12 opponents UCLA, Arizona and California (all of whom rank in Golfstat’s most recent top 35) and former Big 12 foes Kansas, Texas and host team Oklahoma State. Additionally, Texas Tech’s Kimmie Hill will be competing as an individual.
The top eight teams and two individuals from each of the three regionals will advance to the NCAA Championships Finals, held at the Tulsa Country Club from May 20-23 in Tulsa, Okla.
Going into the tournament with the ups and downs of the regular season behind them and with prior knowledge of the course helps Kelly know what her team has to do to have success at regionals and have the possibility of advancing to the NCAA Championships. Kelly says it’s a difficult time, with the team also taking its final exams during the week of regionals, but believes the Buffs can find the right balance.
Source: CU Buffs
The Buffs were “perfect” entering the Pac-12 season
Dec 29th
By B.G. Brooks, CUBuffs.com Contributing Editor
BOULDER – Ready or not, the Pac-12 Conference schedule is fast approaching – and the Colorado Buffaloes appear ready.
No. 21 CU was perfect at the free throw line – the Buffs set a school record by hitting all 26 of their attempts – imperfect at times elsewhere, but all-in-all good enough on Saturday night to march past Georgia 84-70 at the Coors Events Center.
“I told our team in the locker room, this is a good win against a quality SEC opponent,” said Buffs coach Tad Boyle. “These guys are going to win a lot of games in the SEC. They are a talented group, but this is a time for us to exhale for a day.”
Then the heavy breathing will commence and not slow until March. The Buffs open Pac-12 play on Thursday (8 p.m.) against Oregon State at the CEC, then host Oregon on Sunday, Jan. 5 (3 p.m.). Boyle will give his team Sunday off, then call the Buffs back on Monday morning to start preparations for the Beavers.
Rebounding from a 78-73 loss to No. 7 Oklahoma State in Las Vegas that snapped a 10-game winning streak, CU finished its non-conference schedule 11-2 and matched its best start in 34 years.
“To be 11-2 with the caliber of schedule that we played says a lot about this group, and we’ve got a lot of basketball ahead of us,” Boyle said. “Season number one is over with, our nonconference portion is done, and now we are going into an 18-game marathon of the Pac-12. Our league is very good, and we’re going to have to be ready mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually, the whole nine yards. We’re excited about it, and I’m proud of what our guys did tonight.”
The individual pride of his players, said Boyle, was responsible for the 26 consecutive free throws, which broke the former school mark of 14-for-14 set in 1980 against Nebraska. The Pac-12 record is 28-for-28 by Washington State (vs. Oregon, 2009), the NCAA record is 34-for-34 (three teams).
Boyle was reminded during the game by assistant coach Jean Prioleau that the Buffs had not missed a foul shot. “I asked him not to speak about it again,” Boyle said. “Coach (Rodney) Billups came up a few minutes later and said it on my right. I asked him not to talk about it again. Obviously, I’m proud of what the team did at the line, but I don’t talk about it when we miss them, and I’m not going to talk about it when we make them.”
Boyle called free throw shooting “a personal thing, an individual thing, and I want our guys to take individual pride, and when they do that, nights like this are fun when you don’t miss any. I don’t want to discount it, but I don’t want to be a hypocrite about it, pat the guys on the back when they do and call them out when they don’t. It’s an individual thing, but I was proud of them. It’s such a mental thing, and I want our guys relaxed. I want them confident.”
He called setting the school record “nice,” but added, “In the big picture of things, there might be some games where we’re going to want some of those back. That’s just basketball.”
Post Josh Scott hit all eight of his free throws on the way to 14 points – he also grabbed 13 rebounds – and guard Spencer Dinwiddie was perfect on his seven foul shots in contributing 17 points. They were among five Buffs in double figures, topped by guard Askia Booker’s 19 – 12 of them in the second half. Also in double digits were forwards Wesley Gordon (10) and Xavier Johnson (13).
Johnson scored 11 of his total in the first half when he hit his first three 3-point attempts, enabling the Buffs to go ahead 11-6 and never look back. Leading by as many as 18 points in the first half, the Buffs allowed the Bulldogs (6-5) to close to within eight with 10 minutes to play. But CU clamped down defensively, allowed Georgia to get no closer and left the CEC with its 53rd home win (seven losses) under Boyle.
“It was good just being able to have Spencer give me the ball for open jump shots, and I was able to knock them down,” said Johnson, who managed only three points in last weekend’s loss. “It’s always easier to shoot at a court you’ve been shooting on for two years. So, it was good. I enjoyed it.”
Georgia had four players in double figures, led by Nemana Djurisic and Kenny Gaines with 12 each.
Boyle undoubtedly will want his defense tightened by Thursday. The Bulldogs shot 51.9 percent (14-of-27) in the second half and finished at 50 percent from the field for the game (28-of-56). But the Buffs shot 51 percent for the game (25-of-49) and outrebounded the Dawgs 34-22.
Boyle credited Georgia for its marksmanship but added, “I just feel like defensively, we have to get better. There’s going to be nights in Pac-12 conference play where we don’t shoot 51 percent, and maybe we don’t outrebound the opponent by double digits. Those are the nights that we are going to have to rely on our defense, and it’s not good enough right now. Bottom line. Our defense is not good enough for Pac-12 level play if we want to compete for a championship. It has to get better . . . we have a short time to get that there.”
The Buffs led 46-35 at intermission, scoring their most points of the season in an opening half. The Bulldogs never led and managed only one early tie (3-3) before falling behind by as many as 18 twice before the break.
Johnson led a 3-point flurry, connecting on his first three attempts from behind the arc before his fourth attempt from downtown rimmed out. But he wasn’t the only Buff who was dialed in from long distance; after Dinwiddie and Jaron Hopkins added treys of their own CU, had hit five of six 3-point attempts and led 21-15. The Buffs finished 8-of-20 from behind the arc.
With Georgia moving in and out of a zone defense, CU’s early barrage of treys no doubt was welcome. But the Buffs relied on getting to the rim and the foul line in a 15-3 run that opened a 36-20 lead with 5:25 left in the half. Booker scored all seven of his first-half points during that stretch.
Booker hit seven of his 12 field goal attempts (two of four from 3-point range), with his 19 points tying a season high. He also had a game-best four assists.
Boyle said Booker “was feeling it tonight. He was very efficient and he took good shots. I thought he was terrific . . . we’ll take seven-for-twelve from Askia every night. I thought his floor game was good. You could tell he was dialed in.”
With their 11-point halftime lead, if the Buffs could stay interested and maintain their intensity the second half offered little hope of a comeback for the SEC visitors. For the most part, CU did both – until Georgia finally cut its deficit to single digits (57-49) on a 3-pointer by Brandon Morris at the 10-minute mark.
But the Buffs quickly righted themselves with a 7-0 run and shot back ahead by 15 (66-49) on a conventional three-point play by Booker with 8:33 remaining. CU regained its 18-point advantage in the final 2 minutes and sent the CEC crowd of 10,848 home happy – and anxiously awaiting Pac-12 play.
The Buffs believe they are ready. “I mean, we’re 11-2,” Scott said. “We’ve played really good teams, and had a really good out of conference schedule. We’re feeling pretty confident going into Pac-12 play. We’re going in trying to win it. So, it’s good.”
Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU
GAME NOTES
• An 11-2 record to start the season, matches the 1979-80 season (34 years ago) after 13 games.
• CU improves to 19-5 record in December games overall under the Boyle coaching staff, 16-1 in December home games.
• Under the Boyle coaching staff, the Buffs are now 30-1 (.968) at the Coors Events Center in November and December (only home loss, Wyoming, Dec. 9, 2011, 65-54 stopping CU’s 22-game non-conference home winning streak).
• During the opening two months of the season (Nov. & Dec.) CU is now 39-12 overall (.765) in home, road, neutral games.
• 9-0 home record this season at the Events Center and the 53rd win at home out of 60 games (.883) over the last four years.
• Second straight win against Georgia; third win versus the Bulldogs – all at home, and trails UGA in the all-time series, 6-3.
• CU closed out the 2013-14 regular season non-conference slate with an 11-2 record. Including 2013-14, the Buffs have won double-digit non-conference games in three of Boyle’s four seasons at the helm, amassing a 44-15 non-conference mark during that span.
• The Buffs tied a season high with 6 first-half three-pointers (Jackson State, Nov. 16; Arkansas State, Nov. 18). With 46 points in the opening frame, they also matched their highest first-half scoring output of the season (Jackson State, Nov. 16; Arkansas State, Nov. 18).
• CU has made at least one three-pointer in 379 straight games (dating back to Jan. 19, 2002). Tonight, the Buffs were 8-of-20 (.400) from beyond the arc.
•The Buffs were 26-for-26 from the charity stripe, marking their first perfect outing from the line since Feb. 27, 2010 (12-of-12 vs. Iowa State). Tonight marked the first time in program history that a CU squad shot 1.000 from the line while attempting at least 15 free throws.
•This was just the 10th known time in CU history that CU was perfect from the free throw line and just the sixth time with 10 or more FTAs.
10-of-10 at Kansas State, 2/12/75; 2-of-2 at Oklahoma, 2/9/80; 14-of-14 at Nebraska, 2/16/80; 12-of-12 at Nebraska, 1/21/81; 2-of-2 at Iowa State, 2/28/81; 2-of-2 vs. Oklahoma, 2/26/83; 4-of-4 vs. Oklahoma, 1/6/90; 11-of-11 at Kansas State, 2/18/06; 12-of-12 vs. Iowa State, 2/27/10; 26-of-26 vs. Georgia, 12/18/13.
•The previous mark for FT percentage with at least 20 attempts was 25-of-26 (vs. Oklahoma, Feb. 17, 1996).
• CU tied a school record 28 consecutive FTs made (all 26 tonight and the final 2 vs. Oklahoma State). The previous mark was previously set vs. CSU (last 23) and UC Irvine (first 5) on Dec. 7 and Dec. 10, 1983.
• CU outrebounded Georgia 34-22, marking the ninth time this season the Buffs have won the battle on the glass. They are 8-1 in those tilts.
• Five players scored in double figures: Booker-19, Dinwiddie-17, Scott-14, Johnson-13, Gordon-10.
Askia Booker
• Tied his season-high with 19 points (Oklahoma State, Dec. 21) to lead the Buffs in scoring for the fifth time in 13 games this season. He also chipped in a game-high 4 assists.
Spencer Dinwiddie
• Started his 82nd career game, tying for No. 12 all-time (Mike Reid, 1982-86).
• Finished with 17 points, the 12th time this season he has scored in double figures.
Josh Scott
• Grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds and scored 14 points to post his 6th double-double of the season (8th career).
Wesley Gordon
• Scored 10 points (his third double-figure scoring effort of the season), while collecting six rebounds, a block, an assist and a steal.
Xavier Johnson
• Connected on a season-tying three treys, all in the first half, en route to a 13-point scoring output (one point shy of his season high, 14 vs. Kansas on Dec. 7). His double figure scoring effort was his 7th this season (19th career).
-COLORADO-
CU MBB team–Close but no cigar
Dec 23rd
By B.G. Brooks, CUBuffs.com Contributing Editor
LAS VEGAS – Colorado cut a 12-point Oklahoma State lead to four in the final minute here Saturday night, but that’s where the Buffaloes’ rally and their 10-game winning streak would stop. The No. 7 Cowboys held on for a 78-73 win in the second game of the MGM Grand Showcase.
No. 20 CU (10-2) struggled to get timely stops and had just as much trouble finding an offensive rhythm, and when Phil Forte III drained a long trey just under the 3-minute mark Okie State (11-1) had a 73-61 lead. The Buffs were running out of chances and time, but a 10-2 flurry brought them to within 75-71 on a put-back by Josh Scott with 26 seconds to play.
OSU’s Marcus Smart hit a pair of free throws (77-71) with 23.4 seconds remaining but Scott answered with two (77-73) at the 16-second mark. Two seconds later, Forte hit one of two foul shots for the Cowboys’ final margin.
“I take the blame for this loss,” said CU coach Tad Boyle. “As a coach I didn’t do a good job on the sideline. I didn’t have our team ready to play tonight for whatever reason. I’ve got to look myself in the mirror.”
In hindsight, Boyle questioned whether he had the Buffs practice as much as necessary during semester finals week which preceded Saturday’s game. “That’s where I take responsibility as a coach, coming off of finals and we had two practices as a team,” he said. “I thought that at this time of the season we could carry over without those lengthy practices through finals; I want to respect our guys as students. So, as a basketball coach it’s really hard to take that time and back off, and maybe that hurt us tonight. It’s not an excuse, it’s just the fact that we weren’t as sharp and we need to become sharper and the only way you can do that is by practicing.”
Nonetheless, Boyle added, “We have so much room for improvement, we still haven’t put a (complete) game together, and yet we played the No. 7 team in the country to a five-point game on a neutral court and we don’t feel like we played well, at all.”
CU junior guard
disagreed with Boyle shouldering the loss. “I don’t think the blame goes on coach Boyle,” he said. “He’s just tough on himself – just like I am on myself . . . the only thing we maybe could have done better was a have a couple more days of practice.”
The Cowboys’ 78 points were the most the Buffs have allowed this season. OSU shot 61.9 percent from the field (13-of-21) in the second half and finished at 52.1 percent (25-of-48). CU shot only 40.6 percent from the field (26-of-64). The Buffs outrebounded the Cowboys 41-30 and got 21 second-chance points to the Cowboys’ four.
CU junior guard Spencer Dinwiddie called OSU’s second-half shooting percentage “very disappointing . . . we just dug ourselves a hole.” But the self-burial started in the first half.
Among Boyle’s pre-game goals was to limit the Cowboys’ layups, targeting six as a minimum to give the Buffs the best chance of winning. That was six for the game – not the first half.
But that’s what CU allowed in the first 20 minutes, which helped Okie State roll to a 32-26 lead at intermission. Also contributing were nine of the Buffs’ 14 total turnovers, which resulted in 11 Cowboys points (20 for the game off). Smart, who finished with 18 points, and Markel Brown, who scored a game-best 23, got to the rim unimpeded twice each in the opening half, with the other two layups scored by Kamari Murphy and Michael Cobbins.
The Buffs tightened their interior defense by a couple of clicks, allowing five second-half layups. But the Cowboys’ presented other offensive problems – namely a pair of late, long treys by Forte, who scored 16 points off the bench on four-of-seven shooting from beyond the arc and four-of-seven free throws.
Dinwiddie, who finished with 19 points, called Forte’s treys “timely” and said the Buffs’ first-half turnovers and their porous second-half defense are “never good enough against a good team. Those are probably the three (biggest) things.”
CU got a double-double from Scott – 20 points, tying a season high, and 12 rebounds. Scott hit 10-of-13 free throws and scored 18 of his total in the second half, when Boyle said the Buffs began to focus more on getting the ball inside: “We had 17 paint touches in the first half; we want 50 for the game.”
“If we could get that first half back and play like we did in the second, I think it would be a different outcome,” Scott said, referring more to his team’s nine turnovers and yielding six layups than him not getting more touches.
The Buffs’ largest lead was three points (7-4) following a five-point burst by Booker. That also was CU’s last lead, with four ties following before intermission.
But permitting the six layups undoubtedly wasn’t Boyle’s only beef with his Buffs in the first half. In addition to their nine turnovers, they made a season-low (for a first half) three assists and got to the free throw line just once (Xavier Johnson hit one of two). CU finished the night making 15-of-20 free throws – not close to an average night’s work for the Buffs – while OSU made 23-of-35.
“Coming into this game, we’re eighth in the country in free throw attempts,” Boyle said. “We’re eighth in the country for free throws made; we didn’t get to the free throw line tonight, for whatever reason. Obviously we have to figure out how to score when we’re not getting to the free throw line, but that’s frustrating when you know over an 11 game schedule how many free throws you shoot and that’s a big part of your offensive identity and then you don’t get to the free throw line – for whatever reason – frustration sets in a little bit. We’ve got to get better in that regard, so we have to become a better half court execution team.”
Boyle also said the Cowboys’ zone defense in the second half “got us standing, which is exactly what they want, but we didn’t handle that well at times.”
Also, getting forward Wesley Gordon back after a two-game absence didn’t help CU that much in the opening half. At the 16:06 mark, Gordon was whistled for his second foul and went to the bench with two rebounds and a steal.
He didn’t return (or score) until the second half opened, hitting a foul line jumper – his only points for the night – that brought the Buffs to 34-30. A Booker layup off a steal by Scott cut the deficit to 34-32 half a minute later. But the Cowboys widened their lead to five points (37-32) on one of three free throws by Smart and a jumper by Brown with just over 161/2 minutes remaining.
Okie State’s advantage ballooned to eight (44-36) before Dinwiddie hit a trey from the left corner and one of two free by Scott cut the Buffs’ deficit in half (44-40). The Cowboys went another layup spree, getting three – including a dunk and free throw by Smart – and a pair of treys by Forte to take their first double-figure lead of the night (63-53) with 7:32 to play. At that point, Boyle tried to regroup his troops with a timeout. It didn’t help immediately, but the Buffs kept grinding.
“I love the toughness, and the grit, and the fight in our team, and I have a lot of respect for Oklahoma State and their players,” Boyle said. “t’s just disappointing because we will never have this opportunity again unless were fortunate enough to get them in the (NCAA) tournament.”
The Buffs don’t play again until Saturday, Dec. 28 when they host Georgia at the Coors Events Center. Their first post-Christmas practice is scheduled for Thursday.